Awards 2011

Awards - Norwegian Competition

Two films were awarded by the jury.

Best Norwegian Film: A DCP (Digital Cinema Package) of the winning film, from BUG.
1994 by Kaveh Tehrani
Jury statement:"Original and entertaining about being an integrated immigrant in Norway in the frame of the 'all-time event': the Lillehammer Olympics of 1994. The documentary style supplies authenticity to the film, and even if the topic is serious enough, it feels fun in a liberating way."

The Special Jury Award: A Lowell light kit, from Video 4.
PERSONAL VELOCITY by Jon Vatne
Jury statement: "A well made and thrilling documentary portrait of the guys who risk their lives by by riding bikes in the streets of New York City. An elegant and technically impressive film that conveys something essential about living with death in the vicinity."

Honorable mentions:

FRIENDS OF GOPIA by Jan Langhaug
Jury statement:"A moving and thought-provoking documentary about two experts in the art of living."

FREDAG by Eirik Svensson
Jury statement:"A well acted fiction with strong authenticity about class identification in modern Oslo."

One film was awarded by Trondheim kino.

Best Prerunner: One month as a prerunner at Trondheim kino.
FLIMMER by Line Klungseth Johansen
Jury statement: "An ambitious and visually beautiful film that is technically very well made​​. In four minutes, the film creates a complex poetic mood, which is not free from discomfort. Elements of sound and image, hints, and leave keys, to a larger story - which we are left eager to know more about."

29 Norwegian films participated.

Awards - Nordic Competition (NIFA):

Four films were awarded by the jury. All winners receive a NIFA-trophy. NIFA also includes the films in Norwegian Competition.

NIFA Best Film, incl. EUR 1 000 from Fretex
LITTLE SNOW ANIMAL (Lumikko) by Miia Tervo, Finland
Jury statement: "A hybridic mix of documentary, fiction and animation that depicts a strong and cohesive portrait of a young girl who struggles to make sense of her life. A visually compelling and poetic narrative that manages to communicate intimacy, humor and vulnerability in a surprising and original way."

NIFA Best Fiction, incl. 5 reels of 35 mm film stock from Kodak.
INCIDENT BY A BANK (Händelse vid bank) by Ruben Östlund, Sweden
Jury statement: "Two disguised persons on a moped clumsily try to rob a bank while two bystanders capture the whole thing on a mobile phone. As a parodic reconstruction of a real event it is a welcome addition to the fast growing number of fictional films that elaborate in a creative way that is an important part of contemporary storytelling."

NIFA Best Documentary:
BATHING MICKY (Micky bader) by Frida Kempff, Sweden
Jury statement: "Beautifully crafted portrait of a 100 year old bathing enthusiast. Straight forward and solidly structured film about a dramatic and emotionally fulfilling life."

NIFA Best Animation or Art film:
1989, WHEN I WAS 5 YEARS OLD (1989, dengang jeg var 5 år gammel) by Thor Ochsner, Denmark
Jury statement: "Gripping and personal account of a car accident in which the protagonist's father dies. Using the animation style of child-like drawings and a descriptive voiceover, the filmmaker pulles us into the tragic incident in a precise and unsentimental way."

Honorable mentions:

THE DEATH OF AN INSECT (Erään hyönteisen tuho) by Hannes Vartiainen and Pekka Veikkolainen
Jury statement: "Fascinating experimental film where aesthetics meet the science film tradition in the spirit of Jean Painleve."

The jury considered 29 Nordic non-Norwegian films, as well as the 29 films in Norwegian Competition.

Award - One-minute-films

Audience Award: The challenge cup Den Gyldne Saks, along with NOK 2 000 from Fretex.
FORTELLERSTEMME by Magnus Skatvold

49 Norwegian films participated.

Award - International Panorama

Audience Award: EUR 500 from Filmkick.
THE EXTERNAL WORLD by David O'Reilly, Irland/Tyskland

34 international films participated.

The Award Jury for NIFA, Norwegian and Nordic Competition:

• UNNI STRAUME (b. 1955, Norway)
Film director and scriptwriter. With her distinctive poetic style regarded as one of the most important contemporary filmmakers in Norway. Four feature films (1990-2002), and among other shorts, Derailment (1993) and T83 (1996).

• ÓLAFUR H. TORFASON (b. 1947, Iceland)
Author, journalist, veteran film critic in RÚV, The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Chairman of The Film Board of Iceland since 2009.

• MARIT KATHRYN CORNEIL (b. 1965, Canada)
A filmmaker and documentary scholar. Assistant professor and a doctoral fellow at the Dept. of Art and Media Studies at NTNU, Trondheim. She has published articles on documentary film history and theory and currently teaches film and video production at NTNU and HiNT.

Award Sponsors: